DAILY SAINTS I Mary 24 I Saint David I of Scotland

St. David I of Scotland
(1080–1153)

St David was the youngest son of King Malcolm III of Scotland and his wife Margaret who is herself a saint. Although David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, he was educated for some years at the Anglo-Norman court in England. When his brother Alexander acceded to the throne of Scotland in 1107, David became Prince of Cumbria. He married Matilda and became an English earl. Upon Alexander’s death, David reluctantly became King of Scots in 1124. King David oversaw the continuing development of the Scottish state and the organisation of Christianity within it. He founded bishoprics, endowed monasteries. This period in Scottish history has become known as the ‘Davidian revolution’. When Queen Matilda died, he gave even more attention to religious matters, reciting the Divine Office himself each day and giving alms. David died in 1153.